Using Pinterest to Leverage Marketing Efforts

Pinterest gives us an opportunity to market to fans and consumers like no other social media site does. According to Wishpond, nearly double the fans interact with brands or companies they like on Pinterest than they do on Facebook. Pinterest has always been uniquely focused on visual aspects, but now, with the new article pin type, it can balance images, text and sociability. More than ever, the site offers a highly visual and interactive experience that can take a company, author, or idea to the next level.

There are a variety of ways that you can use Pinterest to leverage your marketing efforts, and a few things in particular stand out that will make all the difference in your social media marketing.

Write Something Worth Reading and Pin It

Pinterest recently rolled out article pins. There are already 5 million articles pinned a day, according to TechCrunch, and this new feature directly addresses and the needs of content publishers. In the world of SEO, quality content makes all the difference in branding, search rankings, and drawing the general interest of the public. This new style of pin has the ability to highlight the publisher while attracting new consumers.

The article pins show the title of the article, the author, and give a brief description or snippet of the content. Previously, all those millions of article pins would only show an image associated with the article, and users would have to click through to discover whether the article was worth reading. Now readers can see information related to the content, so it can help prolong the relevancy of the information as well as the interest that people are showing in it.

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The Benefit to Authors and Publishers

Authors have the opportunity to market themselves in a new way and get immediate credit for their work. They can reach entirely new audiences through Pinterest and build a consistent readership because viewers will see the quality of their content the moment they look at the pin. Not only that, with Pinterest being a “pin now, use later” type of site, people who pin an article can quickly glance at their pin board and know exactly what content is in it and remembered why they wanted to save it in the first place. In other words, articles on Pinterest can remain relevant for much longer than if it were to simply posted on a blog or website.

Businesses can also use article pins to get their ideas or products into new hands. Writing something about a company’s goods or services can give consumers new insights and encourage them to try something new. A single post can interest people who might not have understood the scope of a company before and encourage them to pin and save these ideas and products for later. Of course, according to most recent studies, the number of clickthroughs generated by Pinterest seems to suggest they’re just as likely to immediately check out the company’s website.

Make Your Pins Pretty and Usable

Creators of information, products, and content should start out with good images on their pages that will be beneficial to their brand. Images catch a person’s eye and draw them into the post. Pinterest is a highly visual site and your image is the first thing people will notice when they see a pin, even if it’s an article. This means you need to provide a descriptive and relevant image.

Once you have selected the image to accompany the content, the image tag code suggested by Pinterest will make it more searchable for users within Pinterest, which, in turn, will help your overall search rankings. Yes, pins show up in Google search results.

For some more information, you can check out the Pinterest guide on how to make pins as useful as possible using simple HTML code in an image tag.

Make Pins Relevant

Branding your pins is important. They should be relevant and reflective of you or your merchandise. Stick with images and content that tells people who you are and what you do. Don’t just post a random something that you think will get attention. There is a little more freedom in this when re-posting other people’s pins, but maintaining brand relevancy in your own pins will attract the people who will potentially become loyal fans and followers.

Be Active and Be Seen

Create your own pin boards and be an active Pinterest user. Another relatively new feature Pinterest released involved making recommendations based on your interests. When you pin something, it suggests other products similar to what you just pinned. When you are actively pinning things that are related to your brand – or in the case of authors, related to your articles – more people will see you. Your pins will be recommended to others as they pin their own images and articles, and they will also show up in the feeds for various categories. Users will then be more apt to dig deeper into your boards and what you are pinning.

Here’s an example: If you are selling hand soap, you could create a pin board for “hand soap” and pin your product along with other types of hand soaps that are floating around on Pinterest. You could also pin to a “home cleaning” or “home decorating” board along with other products and ideas. Additionally, you could pin to a “favorite products” board. With Pinterest’s new feature, the more you pin to your own boards, the more your pins will pop up when people pin something related to those subjects.

Pinning is a fun and interactive way to grow your brand. When you’re active and brand-conscious, you can open the doors to a whole new audience. Many companies have found Pinterest to be a social media site that offers opportunities for quick growth, and with these new features, we have a wide range of new marketing channels. When you maintain the integrity of your brand, are an active user, and draw people in with exciting information and images, you will be very happy with the results.

About Megan Fludd

Megan Fludd is a Content Strategist at SEO.com. Prior to joining SEO.com, she spent over 7 years working in programs, communications, and marketing for non-profit organizations. She enjoys writing, spending time with her kids and family, and traveling.